Chapter 203:
Chapter 203:
But if they'd heard about the results of today's club competition, they'd know better.
"Familia is different from the other clubs."
"I know, but I'm only saying that because I don't think that's enough."
She wore a serious expression, unlike her usual playful one.
"Senior. What happened?"
"I think the president noticed that we are holding hands."
"Him?"
"Yeah. In today's meeting, he warned me to bury the hatchet and start fresh. Well, I guess he thought you and I were just mocking him."
That's barely what I was aiming for.
As I say this, Julie turns away with a deep look on his face.
At the same time.
-Dalcock
A chubby ball of fur comes in through the animal doorway in the door.
It was a guinea pig carrying a tray on its back, carrying our drinks.
Ha~ really. I can barely stand the sight of these clumps of hair."
Is this why people get pets?
The look on their face when they see something cute.
After all, this business item was bound to be a success.
"Senior, you didnt intend to hide it from the president in the first place, did you?
"Huh? What do you mean?"
At my words, Julie's gaze shifts from the guinea pig to me again.
"Well, in the Academy the student council is the center of attention, and whether you're a bat or in your original form, I'm guessing you made that move because you didn't care if you got caught."
"Me? Why?"
"Becausethat way the president would be afraid of you."
She stops moving.
"A freshman upstart who controls the club's funding and a sophomore vice president. There's probably nothing more frightening to the president than that, a blade that could be pointed at him at any moment. Isn't that why you've induced this flow where the president holds on to the vice president?"
Giving her more carrots to keep her from coming to me.
After that, wouldnt it be an obvious scenario? I'm saying that while putting a huge carrot in the hand of my senior. Dont trust me. Trust my family. I will give you more wealth and glory. Like Think of your family! What, am I wrong?
I leave it at that and drink the espresso that Guinea Pig delivered.
Maybe it's because I'm half Korean, but I still prefer an Americano.
"So, what do you say?"
".I guess I'm not the only one you planted in the student council, huh?"
I shrug at her question.
"It's a secret."
She chuckles and shakes her head.
"Okay, I won't ask. I'm sure you have your secrets, butI'm one of the few people in the Academy who knows your secrets, right?"
Her eyes slowly rose.
"I have the legitimate heir of Corleone before me, and I have no interest in a potential heir to the Pendragon."
In other words, she had chosen House Corleone, not House Pendragon.
"I thought you were going to ask for time to think about it. I'm surprised."
"I'm a quick thinker, so I guess the test is over. How about we get to the point, junior?"
To the point. That Familia' is dangerous.
I nodded.
"You know about the clubs you'll be playing against tomorrow, right?"
"Yes. I'm pretty sure I heard there were two small groups and one club."
"To be precise, the small groups are Dominoes and Icebreakers, and the club is Paper Airplane."
That was all the information I needed to know.
Dominoes is exactly what it sounds like, a place where you play dominoes, and Icebreakers is a club that develops ice cream. Paper Airplane was the club that made the best paper airplanes, right?
But Julie continued.
"Among them, Domino and Icebreaker used hired mercenaries, not academy students, but outside mercenaries."
"..Outside mercenaries?"
"Yes, because the school rules state that non-martial arts clubs can hire up to E-class heroes as representatives."
"This trap is a bit spicy, isn't it?
"Up to this point, yes, but the real problem is."
"You mean those mercenaries might actually be D-class heroes who are delaying their promotion."
"Exactly, because the president has used his connections to bring in heroes who are barely D-class."
D-ranked heroes were those who were actively engaged in heroic activities and were full members of their respective guilds.
In academy terms, they were upper-middle class second-year students.
Moreover, if it was the president, he probably didn't get them by accident, but rather by delaying their promotion to do something like this.
"You're probably going to get in trouble tomorrow if you do what you did today. I asked to meet to warn you about this."
"Hmmm."
Her warning was very helpful.
If I hadn't known, the kids would have been stuck with a bunch of D-list heroes.
But.
"Well, it should be fine."
"What? Didn't you hear me, tomorrow the D-class heroes will."
"Familia's children are stronger than you think."
The members of the Familia aren't the kind of kids who would fall to that level.
This is especially true for Se-ah, who just today performed beyond my wildest dreams.
She's now able to steal and reform her opponents' magic as effortlessly as water, as well as wield CTC despite her inexperience.
Objectively speaking, her power was not inferior to an D-class hero.
And
If I had just wanted to win in the first place, I would have done that. I also have the money and connections to hire mercenaries.
Just looking at Corleone right now, there is a hero who is classified as E-level on paper despite having skills above B-level.
Still, my reason for sending out the children of the Familia one by one was simple.
"Our Familia' must stand out from the rest."
We weren't just another martial arts club.
"We must be overwhelmingly stronger than everyone else."
We weren't aiming for the Academy's top clubs.
"We have to be something that others can only look at and feel awe and fear."
The children of the Familia'.
"That's Corleone."
Because they were already part of Corleone.
"."
Her glass of tomato juice rattled as she listened to my words in silence.
The ice cubes clinked together as she finished her drink.
Slowly, she removes her mouth from the straw. Her juice-stained lips were redder than usual.
"Corleone. Corleone inside the Academy."
And then.
"Khhhh! Khhhhh! Hahaha!"
She suddenly starts laughing maniacally, holding her stomach.
"Hahahaha! Was that it? Really? Was that it? You, you, junior, you are so crazy!"
Holding her stomach until tears well up in her eyes, she looks at me with a smile still on her face.
"Seriously. Were you thinking of setting up a Corleone branch inside the Academy, or in this case, have you already?"
Julie asks me, wiping away her tears.
"Didn't you keep a close eye on the results?"
In a single day, I created a club, gathered talented kids, and in no time at all, created an organization with influence in the academy.
"Corleone doesn't shy away from fights that come our way."
And in those fights, it's always been Corleone's way to bite the other guy in the ass.
"We're going to fight to be the best and the brightest that we can be, and the worst that they can be."
"And that was the reason one person has to fight one club? Is it because of school rules?"
"Because I believed it was possible."
And this whole game was only possible because I knew this Ray Pendragon guy.
He was the kind of person who, if he thought his plan was perfect, would fall into a trap and be blindsided by his superiority and arrogance.
"A first-year academy student defeating an active duty hero. Isn't that the ideal spectacle for the audience?"
And little by little, it would begin to spread across the academy, across Korea, and across the world.
"The Corleone Branch of the Seoul Academy of Heroes. One more line in the history of the Familia,' and I can only thank our student council president for that."
With that, I shake off the last of the espresso.
It must have been a bitter liquid, but its flavor lingered in the throat and mouth where it had passed, giving off a heavy yet subtle aroma.
"I see your plan, and it seems that holding your hand was the right thing to do after all."
"I, too, am pleased to have you join us."
"Then my job is clear. I'm going to get on the president's good side and find out what I can, and then I'm going to slowly earn his trust and get closer to him."
"Wouldn't that be the best way to assassinate a king?"
And at this, we once again extend our hands to each other.
"Julie Rodman. Heir to House Rodman. What is about to happen is a betrayal agreed upon with my junior. Do you accept?"
"Eugene Han Corleone. Heir to the Corleone family. I will gladly accept your betrayal from now on. Of course, it would be better if you vetted any information about me before passing it on."
She smiles and grabs my hand.
"Not bad terms."
"They're generous terms."
Vice President x Campus Mafia.
It was the day we decided to betray each other.
* * *
The next day, the scene in the classroom was strangely peaceful.
"Oh, is the president here?"
As usual, Young-jae was sitting in the front row, fiddling with his phone.
"What's wrong with them?"
I ask, looking at Se-ah in an awkward posture next to me and Jin-woo, who is quickly scooping water from the water dispenser.
"You know that fight Se-ah had yesterday? I guess she decided not to fuss about it.
"Ah."
The image of Se-ah pulling an unpredictable surprise with the CTC flashed through my mind.
She was definitely a little scary yesterday, but now that I saw her again, I could understand her reaction.
"Did you see the information I posted in the chat yesterday?"
"Oh, our opponents? They're active heroes, so I'm a little nervous, butmentor said. If I lose today, don't go around saying I'm his mentee. Hell hang me from the top of Lotte Tower."
Uh.
"He must be serious."
" I know, and that's why it's even scarier."
Apparently, this was a game of life and death.
Just then, I saw the back of Jin-woo's shaking head.
"Jin-woo. What about you?"
His mentor persona would have said something.
"She told me to be prepared to take a stab for everyeffective hit. Han Yeo-eun is definitely a crazy bitch."
"How dare you call our goddess crazy, you bastard? Are you blaspheming, huh?! Do you want to die?!"
"Sorry!!!"
It sounds like he's even worse than Young-jae.considering that Jin-woo who was being specially trained by Antonio and Han Yeo-eun I wasn't too worried.
Then the last one left is Choi Yeon.
"Yeah. She'll take care of herself.'
She's actually the one I'm least worried about.
I wasn't too worried about her, so I waited for the club competition.
-Ah! Choi Yeon! Big game! Will the neat lily of the valley eventually be defeated Ahhh!